Swimming
the art of floating and propelling the body in the water. Many animals, as waterfowl, swim naturally. Nearly all animals can swim for short distances. Rats swim well, but mice and moles soon drown. Large animals of the cat tribe, as the tiger and the lion, are good swimmers, but the house cat hates to wet her feet and can swim but a short distance if compelled to take to the water. All the four-footed domestic animals can swim.
The elephant swims more easily than it walks. It simply stands upright and treads water. Animals of the deer tribe are excellent swimmers. Some quadrupeds have become so accustomed to swim that their limbs are no longer fit for use on dry land. The whale, the manatee, the seal, and the walrus are familiar examples. Fur-bearing animals swim and dive with ease. Man and monkeys are said to be the only animals to whom swimming is entirely artificial.
The body of man is slightly lighter than water. Swimmers claim that by closing the mouth and throwing the head back, it is possible to rest motionless, with the nose above the surface of the water. In swimming, man imitates the motions of the frog more nearly than those of any other animal. Progress is made by thrusting the arms in front and giving them a sweeping motion backward. In swimming, also, the legs are drawn up to the body, thrust outward and backward and then brought together in such a way that the water escaping from between them gives the body a forward motion. The best swimmers in the world are the natives of the Pacific Islands. Both young and old seem to swim almost as naturally as dolphins. They take the greatest pleasure in surf bathing.
Among the world's swimming records are 100 yards by J. H. Derbyshire, an English amateur, in one minute; a mile by Richard Cavill in 21 minutes 11 2/5 seconds, and 40 miles by Captain Webb in 9 hours 57 minutes. Miss Agnes Beckwith has a 20-mile record of 6 hours 25 minutes. Captain Webb has crossed the English channel, a distance of 20 miles, increased to 35 miles by the tides, in 21 hours 45 minutes.
See Diving